Unit 4: Types of Media

Unit 4: Types of Media

Table of Contents

Introduction 2

Learning Targets 3

Lesson 1: Types of Media 4 Jump Start 4 Learn about It! 4 Check Your Understanding 8 Explore and Create! 9

Lesson 2: Media Convergence 10 Jump Start 10 Learn about It! 10 Check Your Understanding 14 Explore and Create! 14

Let’s Create! 15

Self-Check 17

Wrap Up 18

Bibliography 19

Glossary 19

GRADE 11/12 | Media and Information Literacy

UNIT 4

Types of Media Human communication is a series of messages. Some are clear and explicit, while others are obscure and implied. Ever since cavemen drew pictures on cave walls to narrate the events of the day’s hunt, or wrote symbols to warn or alert their tribesmen, the transmission of messages has been a human preoccupation. As the technology available to us grew, so did the complexity of human society and our need to communicate. Nowadays, information travels faster than it ever has, and there is also more information to share than we have ever had. Furthermore, the last few decades have witnessed media becoming big business; beyond this, media has become a means for various sectors of society to gain a voice of their own and use it to be heard.

Fig. 1. How many messages do you send and receive in the morning before going to school? Without us realizing it, different ways to send and receive messages are already a normal part of our lives.

2 Copyright © 2018 Quipper Limited

Learning Targets

In this unit, you should be able to:

● Classify contents of different media types; ● Define media convergence through current examples; and ● Discuss in class how a particular individual is portrayed in public using different

types of media.


Lesson 1: Types of Media

Developing media literacy involves navigating a wide variety of media that our society uses to share and transfer information. Currently, the modern generation has inherited many varied types of media that were prominent in their heyday and still serve a purpose today. Just as well, new types of media continue to emerge as technology continues to be developed.

Jump Start

Think-Pair-Share: Find a partner. Take a minute to reflect on the question below. You are given five minutes to discuss your answers. Share and explain your answers to the class. What is the best way to deliver a message to the following?

● a classmate ● a friend or relative who has migrated abroad ● a stranger who might be interested in hearing the message

Learn about It!

The term “media” is the plural form of “medium,” which refers to a channel for general communication in a social context. Hence, they are channels or paths through which information is delivered from one person to another.


The fact that we commonly refer to the whole as “media” tells us that society sees media as being of many types. On a daily basis, you are exposed to a broad range of types of media. Can you name the types of media you have already encountered? Each type is distinct from another type in many ways. However, all of them have one thing in common: each type is a means to deliver a message to people. Below are the five types of media in widespread use today.

● Print media ● Broadcast media ● Film or cinema ● Video games and digital media ● New media

Print media is arguably the oldest type, entering use in the earliest days of written language itself. It has evolved considerably, and is driven by humanity’s insatiable hunger for information. Since the invention of the Gutenberg printing press, print media evolved to include books, newspapers, and magazines. These are prevalent in most parts of the world


today despite the increasing popularity of Internet-based media.

Broadcast media evolved in leaps and bounds in the 20th century. These types do not rely on the production and distribution of physical copies as much as print media does because they distribute their messages “over the air”. Additionally, because their programming can be viewed by multitudes at once, broadcast media like radio and television have been traditionally accepted as the most efficient way to transmit messages.

Film has evolved, from black-and-white “moving pictures” with no sound to highly sophisticated color movies, especially with the advent of digital cinema. This form of media originally recorded images onto the celluloid strips that give it its name. It is generally used for storytelling purposes, although shorter instructional videos are also common. Note that some time after their run in theaters, films may also be re-shown on television.


Compared to the previous three types of media, video games are a relatively young type, first coming into vogue in the 1970s. From early, simplistic point-and-shoot or beat-em-up gameplay, modern video games are almost cinematic affairs. The most notable examples incorporate extended visualized storytelling, and feature a wide range of topics and themes. Notably, its output and design limits are further tested every few years due to the brisk development of the technology that drives it. Mobile games, playable on smartphones, are currently as popular as their older console-based cousins.

New media, as the name suggests, is another young, growing type of media that has come into being with the advent of modern technology. It is usually digital and Internet-based. It is also interactive, with two-way communication (in the form of comments, Likes, tweets, among others) usually being central to its design. Interestingly, older-media forms have find new-media life. Blogs (web logs), audio and video streaming services, and online versions of newspapers are prominent examples of new media. Social media is also a part of new media known today, and is perhaps the example with the most potential.


Check Your Understanding

A. Complete the table below by providing examples that belong under each media type.

E.g. Complete the table below - (5 items)

Print Broadcast Film Video Game/Digital

New Media

Dante’s Inferno Radio One on RX 93.1

Sunday Beauty Queen

Horizon: Zero Dawn

Epic Meal Time


B. Answer the following questions. 1. What is the best media type for delivering urgent news to the broadest range of

people? 2. What advantages does print media offer over broadcast media?

C. Answer the following questions.

1. What might be a more appropriate name for new media than “new media”? 2. Examine what makes video games and related digital media a worthwhile category

of media, just as print and broadcast media are.

Explore and Create!

New media is theorized to eventually replace print and broadcast media. What other outcomes can you imagine? Briefly describe where you think the interaction between types of media will be in five years’ time.


Lesson 2: Media Convergence

Most types of media have grown in sophistication and complexity over time. Interestingly, while these distinct types of media have coexisted remarkably well, their development has led to an inevitable overlap in their scope.

Jump Start

Think-Pair-Share: Find a partner.Reflect on the question below. Then, share and explain your answers.

● Think of your favorite collaboration between two artists from different genres. Why is this such an interesting performance?

Learn about It!

Different types of media have traditionally carved out separate niches, usually based on their different features and strengths. However, over time we have seen the lines between media types blurring. The coming together of media types, and their related industries, is known a called media convergence. While the word “convergence” literally means an intersection, or a meeting of distinct forces, its

meaning and power applies differently here. Media theorist Henry Jenkins (2006) points out that “convergence is a word that manages to describe technological, industrial, cultural


and social changes.” The Encyclopedia Britannica notes that the interconnection brought on by media convergence involves three C’s of computing, communication, and content. This acknowledges the undeniable role that the Internet and developments in personal computers have had in changing the way we send and receive messages and content. Jenkins identifies five types of convergence:

1. Technological convergence is perhaps the most common way to point out convergence in action. Here, the lines of traditional media types blur as technology makes it possible for media content to be supported on media types and platforms. Television shows and radio programs, for instance, are no longer exclusively accessible via television sets and radios.

2. Cultural convergence includes a number of key aspects of cultural convergence. One

is the “flow” of stories from one format to another, which can be seen in adaptations such as the Mars Ravelo print comic books being adapted into television series and films. Another key aspect is participatory culture, which allows media consumers to add some input on the media they consume, as well as create their own examples of that media. YouTube is a prominent example that demonstrates this.

3. Organic convergence is the natural outcome of a world

filled with diverse media types. Jenkins also calls this social convergence, or “media stacking”. Not so much a “planned” convergence as a type that “simply happens” by nature, organic convergence can be seen in cases where a person is using their smartphone to send messages or browse the Internet while watching television, or reading a newspaper while a radio program plays in the background.

4. Global convergence is an arguably inevitable effect of

media bridging the gap between geographically distant cultures and peoples is having these cultures influence each other. The United States’ “Hollywood” filmmaking culture has inspired similar styles to grow in India (Bollywood) and Nigeria (Nollywood), despite each of those countries being quite distant from the others.


5. Economic convergence refers to the linking of companies and businesses to media. Prominent examples of this type of convergence arose in the late 1990s and 2000s. Media companies and properties became visibly profitable and prominent enough to catch larger companies’ attention. These days, it is not unusual for a parent company to have stakes in many different media industries. Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation has its hands in cable television, broadcasting, book publishing, and film, among others.

One important area of concern regarding convergence and its surrounding cultural shifts is the way people, whether individuals or groups, are portrayed. Media sends messages, and sometimes these are subtle and implied. The news media in particular is deeply concerned with fairness and thus, the avoidance of bias. Social media, where most of the participatory


culture finds itself, is not so tightly regulated beyond some ground rules set by the companies running the social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter.


Check Your Understanding

A. Answer the following questions.

1. What does the word “convergence” literally mean? 2. What type of convergence has participatory culture as one of its key concepts? 3. What type of convergence is also called “media stacking”? 4. What type of media convergence is seen in the way a student listens to MP3s while

studying a science textbook? 5. Which type of convergence is seen in action when a Filipino television series

emulates the six-episode-per-season count of a British television series? B. Answer the following questions.

1. Why do countries and cultures experience global convergence? 2. Why is the behavior that characterizes organic convergence said to be “inevitable”

and “natural” in a world with diverse media forms? C. Answer the following questions.

1. How has each type of media convergence appeared in the history of the Harry Potter franchise?

2. How can global convergence be potentially disadvantageous to countries that experience it?

Explore and Create!

Media convergence can have certain advantageous and disadvantageous effects on the contexts where it occurs. Draft a set of 3-5 rules that you feel media producers and consumers should follow to help them avoid the disadvantageous effects.


Let’s Create!

TALK ON MEDIA CONVERGENCE AND JOURNALISM

You are a team of three youth media analysts at an NGO that sponsors media seminars for secondary schools. Your NGO has chosen to send you to give a short talk to an assembly of HS/SHS journalism students who also want to pursue journalism and writing-related courses. As part of this talk, you must (1) identify three effects of the types of media convergence on journalism, and (2) give these students one piece of advice to deal with each effect. Prepare a sentence-level outline for your talk, as well as a 6-10 slide presentation. Your output must meet the following standards.

● The talk must accurately represent the contents of the planned outline and presentation. Every member must speak for a significant part of the presentation. Speakers must show confidence in stance and voice projection, and audience engagement in eye contact and body language.

● The outline must identify three effects of specific types of media convergence. It must also provide three distinct, concrete and realistic pieces of advice relevant to student journalists.

● The visual presentation must be clear and easy to follow, with readable type and non-cluttered layout. It must have a number of slides that fits the specified range of 6-10 slides.


Accordingly, your work will be judged using the following rubric.

Criteria Beginning (0-12 points)

Developing (13-16 points)

Accomplished (17-20 points)

Score

Content (Focus on details is clearly evident; each detail is clearly related to the topic.)

Organization (Logical progression of details; clear transitions between ideas.

Conventions (spelling, mechanics, grammar and usage)

Effect identification (three effects of clearly-identified types of media convergence)

Strength of advice (three relevant and concrete steps that potential journalists can realistically do)

Quality of visual aids (fits allotted number of slides; each slide is easy to read and follow)

Delivery of presentation (Audible, clear speaking; engagement via eye contact and body language)

Total Score:


Self-Check

How well did you process the types of media, and the ways in which media convergence happens?

Skills

I think I need more time and assistance.

I have a minimal understanding of it.

I am confident that I can do this with ease.

I can classify contents of different media types.

I can define media convergence through current examples.

I can discuss in class how a particular individual is portrayed in public using different types of media.


Wrap Up

● There are five types of media prevalent today. All of them serve the purpose of transmitting messages.

● Likewise, there are five ways that media convergence has taken place. These types of convergence have effects on society.


Bibliography

Flew, Terry. "Media convergence." Encyclopædia Britannica. August 17, 2017. Accessed January

18, 2018. https://www.britannica.com/topic/media-convergence. Jenkins, Henry. Convergence culture: where old and new media collide. New York: New York

University Press, 2016. "Understanding Media and Culture: An Introduction to Mass Communication." University of

Minnesota Libraries Publishing. March 22, 2016. Accessed January 15, 2018. http://open.lib.umn.edu/mediaandculture/chapter/1-4-convergence/.

"Understanding Media and Culture: An Introduction to Mass Communication." University of

Minnesota Libraries Publishing. March 22, 2016. Accessed January 15, 2018. http://open.lib.umn.edu/mediaandculture/chapter/11-5-issues-and-trends/.

"What Is New Media?" Southeastern University. February 22, 2017. Accessed January 18, 2018.

http://online.seu.edu/what-is-new-media/.

Glossary

Broadcast media is beamed across great spans from broadcast antennas and satellites, and is thus extremely efficient in terms of distance of reach and speed of transmission. This includes television and radio. Cultural convergence is known for two main aspects. The first is the flow of stories from one format to another, such as when a comic is adapted into a film. The second is participatory culture, where consumers may add input on the media they consume. Economic convergence is demonstrated by large corporations which acquire and use a media arm, such as when a multinational conglomerate owns a publishing company or television company. Film is a type of media traditionally used for long-form storytelling, although shorter works are a genre by themselves. These combine moving pictures with rich soundtracks, usually to


https://www.britannica.com/topic/media-convergence

tell stories or offer instruction. Global convergence can be observed in how geographically distant cultures can pick up influences from each other via their media. Media refers to communication channels through which information and messages are sent. Media convergence refers to the interconnection and meshing of different, distinct communication channels, networks and technologies. This involves the 3 C’s, namely content, communication and computing. New media is typically digital and Internet-based, and characterized by two-way communication and interactivity. This includes online versions of older media such as newspapers, as well as blogs, streaming services, and social media. Organic convergence occurs when consumers "stack" media by using multiple types at once. Print media is usually characterized by having physical copies produced through printing presses or PC printers. This includes newspapers, newsletters, books, and magazines. Technological convergence is observed when a type of media crosses over into another thanks to technology, such as old television episodes becoming available for viewing on a smartphone. Video games are computer-generated games played on dedicated consoles, computers or mobile devices.


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Unit 4: Types of Media

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